


if we really want to love

by MarzgaPerez



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Husbands, M/M, Mother's Day, One Shot, Other, Sentimental, post s10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24115876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarzgaPerez/pseuds/MarzgaPerez
Summary: Ian and Mickey pay tribute to their moms.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher & Monica Gallagher, Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Mickey Milkovich & Laura Milkovich
Comments: 2
Kudos: 67





	if we really want to love

Mickey lifted his chin and adjusted his tie in the mirror. “I look okay?” 

“You clean up nice, _Mikhailo._ ” Ian was in the midst of fastening his belt and admiring his husband’s dedication to this new tradition they’d agreed to start. “Think we’ll make the 8am service?”

“Probably. If we skip breakfast, get something later.” Mickey sat down on the bed to lace up his dress shoes. He seemed solemn, maybe a little nervous. “Let’s roll,” said the brunet, standing up and approaching the door. Ian followed behind him, catching Mickey’s hand and squeezing his fingers before they headed down the stairs.

The kitchen looked immaculate, the result of some elbow grease from the men of the house. They’d be cooking a small feast later on in the day to celebrate Debbie, who was finally out of jail after her lawyers negotiated a plea bargain, and Tami, who was celebrating her first Mother’s Day. The Gallaghers had sent flowers to Fiona in Florida, because she had been, in so many ways, a mother to them all at one point or another.

Ian and Mickey had also decided to pay tribute to Monica and Laura. Both of the young men had been feeling nostalgic for their moms, especially since neither of the women had been alive to see their sons tie the knot. It would hit Ian every once in a while, this random sense of Monica being in his midst, reading his thoughts, and cheering him on. He believed that heaven existed, and he was certain Monica was up there somewhere, watching over him and rabble-rousing with the angels. 

To honor Laura, Mickey had settled on attending mass and lighting a candle in her honor. He’d shared with Ian how his mom would sneak out of the house most Sunday mornings with all of her brood still asleep to go to church. She never said so outright, but Mickey later realized that the only way she’d survived her unhappy union with Terry Milkovich was through her faith. It had given her the strength to be there for her children as best as she could. Terry had always refused to allow her to bring religion into their home, but Laura had found her own means of defying him. To Mickey, going to church was a way to remember her and a “fuck you” to Terry at the same time.

Ian assured Mickey that he would help him through all of the complicated rituals of the service. Monica and Frank weren’t religious by any means, but they’d never been opposed to free child care. They would drop the kids over at Saint Joseph's most Sundays. Up until Ian was eleven, he’d continued attending mass, even when his older siblings stopped going. There was something about the rituals and the tradition that brought him peace.

On the way over to the church, Ian chuckled to himself over the activity they’d planned for the evening in remembrance of Monica. Clubbing, dancing, and heavy drinking—the very opposite of how they’d be spending their morning. 

“What’s funny, Gallagher?” Mickey tapped his shoe against Ian’s ankle.

“Ah, just thinking about tonight. And how much body glitter we’ll be wearing.”

“Yeah, I’ll be wearing none of that shit, but you go ahead and knock yourself out.”

“Okay, I will.” Ian smiled at the sneer on his husband’s face. “Can I ask you something, Mick?”

“Uh, yeah. Go ahead. Pretty sure you would, even if I said ‘no.’”

Ian smirked and shoved Mickey in the side. “So, uh...do you think your mom...Laura, would have been okay with us? And me?”

Mickey’s expression softened, just like it did whenever Ian mentioned his mother, which wasn’t often because some topics were mostly off limits. But now that they were married, now that they belonged to each other, Mickey didn’t shy away from certain things as often. 

“You fuckin’ kidding me? ‘Course she would have liked your choir-boy ass. Don’t know if she ever knew about me being gay. Might have had a hard time with it at first, but she would have come around. Especially with a son-in-law like you…”

Ian blushed because he knew Mickey was giving him a huge compliment. “I think you’re right about her supporting you. Based on what you’ve told me, she loved you kids…”

“Yeah………………” Mickey had shifted slightly in his seat so that his face was angled towards the window of the train. It was Ian’s signal not to press on the topic any further.

He knew that going to mass was a big thing for Mickey to do. The guy probably hadn’t set foot inside a church since Yev’s christening, definitely didn't believe in God, but at least the brunet was starting to believe that his shitty fate was no longer sealed and that maybe there was some good to be had in the world. 

“Well,” Ian said quietly, “you already know how much Monica would have loved having you as a son-in-law. God, just the thought of you two, ganging up on me, giving me shit. I can only imagine. She would have helped you with all the wedding stuff. Or gotten on your nerves with all of her meddling.”

“Hmph,” Mickey scoffed, “Monica. She was a fucking force alright.” He paused to place a hand over Ian’s knee, patting it lightly, which meant he had something not entirely pleasant to say. “Know you had a special bond with her and shit, and I don’t mean no disrespect, but she had this strange influence over you...”

Ian grew quiet. He was known for being the only Gallagher child to remember the good Monica had brought into his life, choosing to ignore the way she’d manipulated him, because he always figured it was from a good place. Monica had her own fucked up way of showing him that she loved him. But Mickey was right, too. Their relationship hadn’t been the most healthy, and yeah, she would have loved Mickey because Ian loved Mickey, but maybe she never truly understood that love and devotion meant sacrifice and selflessness.

“But, hey...” added Mickey, probably sensing he’d struck a nerve. “She’d be real fuckin’ proud of you.”

“I guess so,” Ian shrugged.

“She taught you how to dance, right?” Mickey teased, reaching over to grab Ian’s hips and swerve them in his seat until his husband’s expression changed from melancholy to something lighter. The brunet leaned in close, his warm breath tickling Ian’s neck. “You can show off those moves tonight.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah...for Monica.”

“Right,” Ian winked. “For Monica. And you can clean up your language for the next couple of hours. No cursing in mass.”

“ _Hours_?! Oh, fuck. Shit! That was the last time. I swear.”

“For Laura,” Ian reminded him with an encouraging smile.

“For Laura,” Mickey agreed.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Mother’s Day! 💐💐


End file.
